Boston Cream Pie

A Classic

I remember having what some called "Boston Cream Pie" growing up and hating it!!  It wasn't until I had my mother-in-law's Boston Cream Pie that I found out how wonderful it can be.  It was one of my husband's favorites growing up.  This was one of the first desserts that I learned how to make Gluten Free.  This is more like a cake than a pie:)

Cake

First of all, the cake mix you use is important.  The first cake mix that I tried had the consistency of cornbread.  With all the chocolate and pudding, it was edible, but not awesome.  There are many Gluten Free cake mixes out there.  The two that I use now for this recipe are really good.  They are either Betty Crocker's yellow cake mix or Auguson Farm's yellow cake mix.  For this Pie, you need one cake layer.  One box of Betty Crocker cake mix makes one layer so they are the right size.  Auguson Farm's cake recipe on the cans is for a two layer cake.  You can half the recipe and get the one layer of cake you need.

To start off, make and bake the cake according to the packaging directions.  Let cool.

Filling

Boston Cream Pie has a pudding filling.  You can either make a box pudding or make your own.

If you make the box filling, make the thicker recipe like you are making a pie filling.

1 small box vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix well and set in the fridge to thicken.  If you like a lot of pudding, you might want to make the large box and then you have plenty to spread around.

For homemade pudding:

3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and sugar.  Stir in the milk.  Cook over medium heat until it thickens and is bubbly.  At this point, cook it for two minutes.  Take it off the heat.  Mix one cup of the hot mixture into the beaten eggs.  Return it all to the saucepan.  Cook and stir it until it is almost bubbly.  It doesn't need to boil again.  Turn the heat down and cook it two more minutes.  Stir in the butter and vanilla.  Put it in a bowl.  Put a layer of saran wrap right on the surface of the pudding.  Put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Chocolate Topping:

2-3 heaping Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 pound powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter
evaporated milk

Combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Add the vanilla and the softened butter.  Add a little evaporated milk and stir.  Keep adding milk until the topping gets to the desired thickness.  It will probably be about 1/4-1/3 cups, but I haven't really ever measured it--sorry.   You can make it thicker by adding more powdered sugar or thinner by adding more milk.

To Assemble:

Take the Cake layer that you made and cooled originally.  With a large, sharp knife, slice the cake in half horizontally making two cake layers.  Carefully take the top layer off and set it aside for now.  Spread pudding over the bottom layer of cake.  You can make it as thick or thin as you like.  I like pudding layer so mine is at least 1/4-1/2" thick.

Take your top layer of cake that you set aside and put it on top of your pudding layer and bottom layer of cake.  Now, take your chocolate topping and spread it onto the top.  Most cream pies just frost the top, but if you really like frosting, you could definitely drizzle it on and let it pour down the sides.